You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball…Of course, baseball fans know that this line from Bull Durham is far from true, part of the humor of the movie and a huge part of the fun of the game. This blog is a space to talk about baseball, being a baseball fan, all of those things that make the game fun and the Angels, because they make baseball fun for me.

The Long, Dark Time Without Baseball, Day 24

24 days without baseball. By this point my mind finally understands that baseball season is over. This isn’t an inordinately lengthy All-Star break or some sort of weird mid-season hiatus. There is no more baseball until spring. My mind understands, but it still does not accept.

Evenings are the hardest. During the day, I am working, just as I do during the season, and sometimes have time to catch Hot Stove or read other news over lunch. That’s not so very different, really. But in the evenings, when all of the have tos are over and it’s time to settle down and relax…eeek, there is just so much extra time now! I have a few non-baseball shows I like. Top Shot is over for the season, but Castle is fun with a lot of good quips about writing and sly book and movie references. I am infatuated with Grimm right now. It’s quirky and clever. Hell on Wheels is so far a more than adequate westerns fix in a sadly post-Deadwood world. And there are a few others. Food Network and the like. But that’s, what? An hour every other evening or so? Occasionally a little more? My mind is temporarily satisfied, then the brief distraction is over, it grows restless and the impatient channel surfing begins in search of a fix that simply does not exist:

And so on. What on Earth do people do with all of this extra time?! I’ve filled it with movies. I’ve filled it with books. Two weeks ago, I filled several evenings making pickles. This week Seth and I are filling the time scouring our house from top to bottom and cooking, cooking, cooking. We host Thanksgiving for our combined families each year (just the two of us and both sets of parents this year though) and we enjoy making it a completely from scratch affair. But that’s this week and before. Whatever will I do next week? 24 days without baseball and it’s clear this blogger needs more offseason hobbies, stat.

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Funny story of the week…okay, of my week at least:

My Pilates instructor is a heck of a nice lady and an excellent instructor, especially from the standpoint of sports and dance conditioning or physical therapy. Her husband is a baseball fanatic, while she knows little to nothing about the sport. It’s just not her thing. To illustrate this point, she told us about a chat with her husband a few years back.

He had asked about two of her clients, a husband and wife, whom she giving private lessons to at the time. And she told him: Oh yeah, Mark used to play baseball. I think their last name is McGwire? He has a lot of Cardinals stuff. I mean a lot. Have you heard of him?

Needless to say, yes, her husband had heard of him.

I burst out laughing all over again just typing this at the thought of what her husband’s expression must have looked like. For the foreseeable future, “He has a lot of Cardinals stuff” is Seth’s and my favorite way of saying someone missed the point.

8 Comments

In all honesty, Kristen, I turned my cable off for a few months to save money for the holidays. Our town is riddled with live hockey, so I don’t have time to watch it on tv anyways, and the kids have so many shows and movies on dvd we really don’t miss it yet. I’ll get it turned back on in time for Spring Training for sure. Until then it’s watching ‘Major League’ and all my other baseball movies.
Funny story about Big Mac!!!
–Mike

Sorry to hear that’s where you’re at Mike. We were doing similar things when Seth was out of work, so I do understand how that goes. It sounds like you and the kids are having a blast together though and that’s the important thing. Besides, as much as I enjoy MLBN, Major League is more fun that a lot of what they air. :)

Holiday prep definitely helps, Bluejaysnest. These countdown posts are mostly intended as tongue in checck, but in all honesty once the holidays pass and especially in the few weeks of February before Spring Training starts, I am climbing the walls waiting for baseball to come back.

I wish the MLBN showed more winter league games. At least once a week so I could get my baseball fix. I emailed them last year about this but never received a response. I may do it again and write another post about it.

Hear, hear, Ron! I remember your letter about adding more Winter League gaes and am behind it 100%. I would probably whine that Winter League games aren’t the same, and they aren’t. But it would be something at least. :)

Is it safe to say you won’t be watching the premiere of Baseball Wives next week? ;)

So far, I’ve been filling my days with some great baseball books, but when I need to veg, some of 2011’s best Giants games keep me company (iTunes & MLB TV help a lot). Good luck on your search for hobbies this offseason!

. Yuck! Yes, it’s safe to say I won’t be watching, LOL, and unless they make reference to it on Intentional Talk or somesuch, won’t hear much about it. So far reading is the primary hobby, and this weekend doing dishes. *sigh* :)

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